The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Generally, the term “computer system” refers to either a stand-alone system or a plurality of interconnected systems, such as, for instance, a client-server network. Regardless of the implementation, the various components making up a computer system typically operate within a range of parameters defined by performance protocols or standards. For instance, the temperature within a computer chassis is often monitored in order to detect periods in time when the system may rise above a certain predetermined temperature reading. Other forms of information that may be monitored within a computer system include, without limitation, voltages associated with semiconductor components located on the baseboard of the system, velocity (e.g., rpm) of cooling fans located on the baseboard or within the system chassis, and the velocity of spindle motors within hard disk drives or optical drives.
Various types of sensors are being used to detect health, operating and performance-related parameters associated with a computer system and its constituent components. Referring to the examples provided above, these sensors include thermostats, voltage meters and tachometers. A computer system typically employs one or more management modules to assist in the collection and analysis of information sensed by the various sensors measuring operating and performance-related parameters within the system. These management modules may be either software or hardware components, but typically encompass both hardware and software components such as implemented by service processors. One such management module is referred to as a “Baseboard Management Controller” (BMC). The BMC is a microcontroller integrated into the baseboard (also known in the industry as the “motherboard”) of a computer system and having a specified number of contact pins through which information sensed by various sensors is received for analysis by the BMC. In order to perform this analysis, the BMC is programmed with firmware for implementing procedures relating to system monitoring and recovery. With this firmware, the BMC is programmed to monitor various operating and performance-related parameters sensed within a computer system and to analyze this information to determine whether any of the sensed parameters are currently outside of an expected or recommended operating range, the occurrence of which is commonly referred to as an “event.”
As technologies advance, computer systems become increasingly small and dense. The physical space in a computer system, such as a blade server, for a physical BMC may not be available. Further, in order to reduce the cost of a computer system, a physical BMC may be eliminated from the computer system. The needs for monitoring health, operating and performance-related parameters of the computer system, however, still exist.